The tale of Adam
by Kira31
Summary: What if Mana wasn't the one chosen to bring about the apocalypse? What if the first infected was instead her unborn brother Shu? How would things turn out? In a world where instead of Eve, there was Adam, this is his story.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: So, I just recently got done watching Guilty Crown, and I have to say, I was blown away. The story was amazing, although there were sometimes when I was able to draw parallels to other works; the music was captivating, and the art enchanting. So, when I came to see what kind of community there was for it on this site, I was a little disappointed to see it wasn't getting the amount of love I thought it should be. As such I have decided to throw in my own two cents and create a story of my own! Since most of the stories I see are about changing the ending, or just showing after the show left off, I decided to go to the other extreme, and change things from before the show! Now, without further ado I am happy to present: The tale of Adam!

* * *

Tokyo July 15 2022

Kurosu Ouma was a frantic man, although many would find it hard to blame him given the circumstances. He was desperately attempting to create a vaccine for an extra-terrestrial virus, no easy task as said virus seemed to have no similarities to virus strains found on earth, and was spending sleepless nights hoping he could crack this one's code. To an outsider, this would look like an impassioned scientist hoping to prevent an outbreak of a dangerous disease, however to those close to Kurosu, whose number could be counted on two hands, there was a reason to his madness.

When Kurosu had first been told of the mysterious rock that his wife Saeko and daughter Mana had found while on one of their nature hikes on their island home in Oshima, he had been instantly intrigued, there had been what seemed like a meteorite crash a few days before. When Kurosu and his longtime friend Shuichiro went to investigate, they were stunned by their discovery, the crystalized rock was giving off a Genomic Resonance! After quickly heading back to Tokyo and the university, they had immediately began to run tests, soon finding out the rock carried a virus able to contaminate the introns of an individual after being exposed to a Genomic Resonance. While the two friends would have been quite happy to discover all they could about this new form of pseudo-life, Kurosu would soon be given information that would change his perspective entirely.

After receiving a mysterious message to meet at an abandoned university building, Kurosu thinking there was something odd going on, invited Shuichiro to come with him. Inside they were confronted by a young man, who seemed to be barely older than a high school student, he had shoulder length messy blonde hair, bright, mischievous, blue eyes, and wore a simple white lab coat. There the young man, calling himself Yu, revealed his reason for contacting him, that his wife was infected with the newly named Apocalypse Virus, the young man also said his unborn child had bonded with the virus, and he would be the one to bring about the fourth apocalypse, with his older sister as the "Eve" to his "Adam".

However well the young man tried to sugar coat what he said there was one undeniable fact, there was so far a one hundred percent mortality rate for lab rats they had experimented on, which did not leave good odds for his beloved wife. As such he had practically closed himself off to the outside world, trying everything possible to save his currently hospitalized wife. The last time he had seen her a weak ago, her naturally full and vibrant face had turned into a gaunt visage, with her skin seeming paper thin and stretched over her face. He had also seen the crystals, which had seemed to become the diseases calling card, growing at the sides of her head. Kurosu furiously typed more commands into his computer, offhandedly wondering if he should have taken the young boy and Da'ath up on their offer, if only to garner more resources.

These thoughts were driven from his head however, when he heard his phone ring, giving it a quick glance he had almost turned back to work, dismissing the matter as inconsequential, before his eyes widened and he made a mad dash for the piece of plastic. Hitting the accept call button he pressed the phone to his ear, speaking in a hurried matter he said "Hello? This is Kurosu Ouma, is my wife alright? Did anything happen to Saeko?" Hearing the speakers answer his face becomes grim and fearful before responding "She has? Alright I understand, I'll be there right away." Not bothering to end the call Kurosu dashes for the door, hurriedly making his way to his car. As he makes the drive to the hospital on the relatively empty streets of midday Tokyo his mind races with possibilities, would his son be stillborn because of this blasted virus? Would the strain of labor accelerate it in his wife? Taking a deep breath he forces himself to clear his mind, to only focus on the here and now.

As he hurried in he moved quickly to the maternity ward, after arriving he sat in the waiting room provided. He hadn't contacted anyone in his rush to arrive so his only companion in his wait was the drip from the coffee machine. After calling the sitter he hired to watch after Mana to bring her, and waiting for another couple of hours, he finally was called out by the doctor who had delivered Mana, Saeko said she trusted him more than a total stranger.

Wringing his hands in front of the stoic doctor Kurosu finally broke down and asked in a worried voice "How is she? How is Saeko? How is the baby?"

The man merely sighed, taking a cloth and wiping his forehead before saying "The baby is fine. He is a perfectly healthy baby boy, he shows no outward signs of having the disease his mother had, so that is alright. As for Saeko however…" Here he looked to the ground before clasping Kurosu by the shoulder, giving him a strong squeeze before continuing "We did all we could Kurosu, but her constitution was already frail from the disease, added with the exertion of giving birth…I'm afraid there was nothing that could be done. She had Sudden Cardiac Arrest soon after your son was born." Feeling the younger man's shoulder shake underneath him he said nothing more, merely standing in sympathy for a man who had the love of his life taken far too soon.

Kurosu futilely tried to wipe away from his face and in a voice periodically broken by sobs he said "Can I…Can I see her? One last time?" Seeing the man give him a slight nod, he allowed himself to be led down the hall. Walking into the small room, he saw his wife, eyes closed, almost peaceful in her faux-sleep. Walking over he clasped her hand falling to his knees he began to sob as he said "Oh Saeko, I'm so sorry. If only I had worked harder, I should have figured it out sooner. And now you're…you're…" Here his sobs became incomprehensive babbling as he began to truly grieve for his lost love.

After he had calmed down the doctor spoke up "Your son has been checked out, would you like to see him? He still needs a name." After receiving a nod the man left to get the as of yet unnamed boy.

Hearing the door open Kurosu glanced over to see his daughter walk in, her eyes wide with childish innocence. Seeing her he gave her a small smile, sitting down in the chair provided he opened his arms and allowed his now eldest child to leap into his arms. Seeing her glance over at the bed Kurosu sighed, knowing he would have to explain to a little girl why her mother wasn't with them anymore, the mere thought of it caused his eyes to water, and his breath starting to shake.

Luckily he was saved from his explanation by the doctor coming back with a bundle of blankets, that were oddly enough silent. Hearing nothing from the spot where his child was supposed to be caused a strike of fear to shoot through his heart, seeing his distress the doctor quickly said in a quiet voice "It's alright Kurosu, he is asleep. Looks like the day tired him out." Handing the child to his father, the doctor decided to give the newly broken family some time alone, before walking out however he turned back around and asked "Pardon me for asking, but is there a name you had in mind for him?"

Kurosu looked down at the sleeping child in his arms, seeing his serene face that was extremely similar to his own. Thinking back on his life, he realized he had been by himself for the majority of it, the first real connections he made were with Saeko who was gone now, and Shuichiro who had drifted away from him ever since the meeting with Yu. His entire life he had not been a part of a group, and threw himself into science, which had led to this whole situation. If there was one thing he wished would not happen to his own child, that he would not be secluded like he had. That his son would find a group of loyal friends to support him.

"Shu" he muttered to himself, thinking of the exact word for what he was thinking of. Looking up at the doctor he answered "My sons name, it will be Shu Ouma."

The doctor nodded as he wrote a note for himself saying as he was walking out the door "It's quite a nice name isn't it? Shu."

* * *

Shu

Shu

"Shu! Wake up sleepy head! Me and Triton have already gotten dressed!"

Shu Ouma, a boy of only seven years old jolted out of his bed, feeling his heartbeat skyrocket as his ears begin to ring. He silently glared at his older sister, who only gave him an insufferable smile as she skipped away happily whistling a tune. Standing up he began to get dressed, fuming at the way his sister decided to wake him up. Thinking about his sister and Triton being alone together, his frown deepened and he began getting dressed even faster. He didn't know why, but lately he began feeling more angry whenever he thought of his two closest people alone together, especially with the ways he had seen Triton stare at Mana whenever they had gone swimming.

Quickly moving into the bathroom to brush his teeth, his movement quickly stopped, as he stared wide eyed at his reflection. Moving his hair away from the base of his neck, trailing his hand over the spot now in plain view. Seeming to grow out of his skin was what looked like blue colored crystals, scratching at it revealed it to be as much part of his skin as the rest of it. Deciding to cover it up he grabbed a Band-Aid and placed it over the crystals. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, feeling fear begin to creep up his spine when all of a sudden he heard "_Better hurry, we don't want to leave Mana alone with Triton too long do we? If we spend too long worrying about it he may begin trying to do…adult things….to her_." Jumping up Shu began looking all around, trying to locate the voice, when his eyes moved slowly to the mirror and looking in silent horror at what was there.

Staring back at him was himself, yet at the same time, not. This version of him was wearing a too wide grin, his eyes staring unblinkingly back at him. This time when he spoke, it was a little off, like his voice was a pitch or two higher than what it was supposed to be. "_What's the matter now? We need to hurry, make sure Triton doesn't do anything to our Mana._" The way he said Mana's name made Shu feel odd, he was practically caressing every syllable, his voice dropping low when he did.

"Who, who are you? Why do you look like me?" Shu spoke in a near whisper that did nothing to hide the intensity of his questioning. However the other Shu's smile seemed to stretch even wider, as if amused at his questioning.

And before Shu could question him again he heard Haruka call "Shu? Hurry down, your breakfast is getting cold." His head snapped to the door where he heard Haruka talk to him from, before whipping back to the mirror and the other Shu, who was mysteriously gone, replaced with Shu's normal reflection.

Shaking away the fear in his chest and chalking his experience up to still being half asleep before calling back "Yeah Haruka, just finishing up!" Splashing some water on his face to wake himself up, and ran downstairs. Seeing Mana and Triton sitting down he fought down the urge to sit in between them, he decided to do the exact opposite and sat down next to Haruka. Scarfing down his food as quickly as possible, the children said their goodbyes to Haruka and decided to spend their last day on Oshima in the expansive forest that covered most of the island.

* * *

After about an hour of aimlessly roaming the urban land of the island, Shu felt and odd feeling come over him, without his bidding his legs began to take him away from Mana and Triton. He heard them call out to him but it was distant, as if they were very far away, or speaking through a bad connection. By the time the feeling left he found himself being shaken by Triton while Mana called his name. Looking around with wide eyes he yawned and asked "Triton? Mana? What's the matter? I thought we were gonna explore a bit?"

"Shu, you completely zoned out, you didn't react at all when we said your name. You've been completely zoned out for like, ten minutes. Are you alright?" Mana walked over and pulled him into her chest, feeling his forehead to see if he had a fever. After squirming away he looked around where they had ended up, he was about to walk away when he had suddenly felt a pulse go through his body. Looking around he saw nothing but still felt a strong connection to this area.

Suddenly a whisper went through his mind "This is it, where you became who you are. Who _we_ are." Looking around wildly he saw nothing but Mana and Triton standing together waiting for him. Unable to stop himself he ran up and shot in between them and grabbed both of their hands, preventing them from getting too close. Ignoring the apologetic look Mana sent Triton, and the subsequent feeling of anger that followed he took off, dragging the two others behind him.

As the sun set on their last day the three children sat on a seaside cliff, Shu with his head on Mana's lap, watching the waves crash on the coast, and Triton and Mana leaning backwards, Triton's hand covering Mana's , giving her a soft smile that she returned.

After seeing Shu fall asleep Triton took a deep breath, and prepared himself for what he was about to do. In the short time he had spent with the Ouma family he had grown to care for each member differently, Haruka became a surrogate mother, Kurosu with his random visits from the lab was like an eccentric uncle, Shu was like a younger brother that he wanted to protect, despite the way odd way he had been acting as of late, and Mana was the one he had the strongest feelings for, loving the kind and caring nature she had, always fretting about Shu whenever he wasn't close by.

As such, he had decided that today, as their last day on the island that they met, he would tell Mana about the feelings he had been hiding from both her and Shu, as well as his concerns for Shu's behavior. Lately he had seemed to be becoming more and more possessive of Mana, like earlier when he had purposefully gotten in between them, or last week when he had wedged himself between them while on the couch. He didn't think the boy was doing it on purpose, Shu had seemed to take after Mana when it was necessary for him to be caring instead of his normal adventurous self. But that didn't change the fact that there was something off with his surrogate brother, and he needed to know what it was, and it was likely that Mana would know what it was.

Looking over he was startled to find Mana looking at him with curious eyes, finding himself tongue tied he could do nothing as she asked "Triton? What's wrong? You were looking like something was bothering you, did some ants crawl into your pants?" Although she started with a serious, caring face, by the end her face had cracked into a half-grin she tried to keep down and giggles she kept hidden with her hand.

Feeling his cheeks flush in embarrassment he quickly stuttered out "N-no! Not at all! What would make you think of something like that!" Ignoring the now audible laughs that left her, Triton took a deep breath and said "No, I'm actually worried about Shu." Seeing her expectant gaze he continued "Haven't you noticed how odd he's been as of late? Earlier he was completely out of it, he's never been like that before. I was wondering if it is just something that happens every now and again, you've been with Shu for his whole life so I thought you might know."

Mana seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before she moved the hand that wasn't with Triton's to begin to pet Shu's head. Speaking in a soft tone she said "No, nothing like this at least. When he was really young he did some odd things, like that time we lost him in a department store when he was three. We don't know how but he managed to find us, when we asked him how he said some weird voice calling him prince told him where to go." Chuckling she continued "He demanded we call him that for three whole weeks. But no, nothing this bad, honestly, it's scaring me a bit." Still running her hands through Shu's hair, Mana let her voice trail off.

Triton took another deep breath, deciding to take some of the courage Shu always seemed to have and finally tell her. At least he was going to before he saw Mana stiffen and stop touching Shu, not noticing anything wrong with the boy he asked "Mana? Are you alr-"

Before he could finish Mana was already standing, holding Shu the way a mother might hold a young baby. As she began to walk away she said over her shoulder "Well Triton? Are you coming?" Not waiting for a response she kept going, her mind running a mile a minute. Remember the exact texture of the rocks that seem to have become part of Shu. She was curious what he was hiding underneath the bandage, she thought he had been trying to be older by shaving with Haruka's razor, she definitely didn't expect those rocks to be on his skin. She knew those rocks by feeling alone, they were the ones that had been on mothers skin right before she was brought to the hospital. Deciding she would tell her father the first chance she got when they made it to Tokyo, she had lost her mother because of those rocks, she wouldn't lose her little brother to them as well.

That night as all in the house were resting for their trip the next day, Shu suddenly sat up, casting a quick glance toward the still sleeping Triton he stood up and walked into the hallway. Walking into Mana's room he stood over her, watching her sleep he brought his hand up to stroke the side of her face. Speaking in a quiet tone he said "_O_h _E_v_e_, y_o_u _a_r_e_ t_h_e _c_l_o_s_e_s_t_ t_o_ _t_h_e_ P_r_i_n_c_e_ g_e_n_e_t_i_c_a_l_l_y, _w_h_i_c_h_ m_a_k_e_s _y_o_u_ t_h_e _b_e_s_t _t_o _r_u_l_e _w_i_t_h _h_i_m_. H_o_w_e_v_e_r," Here his hand moved to her neck, palm ghosting over the pale skin as he continued "_y_o_u_ a_r_e _f_i_n_d_i_n_g_ o_u_t _t_o_o_ m_u_c_h_ t_o_o _s_o_o_n. _I_f _y_o_u_ k_e_e_p_ p_u_s_h_i_n_g, _t_h_e_ P_r_i_n_c_e_ w_i_l_l_ s_o_o_n _b_r_e_a_k, _a_n_d_ m_a_t_u_r_e_ t_o_o _q_u_i_c_k_l_y_. I _h_o_p_e _y_o_u_ d_o_n'_t_ p_u_s_h_ f_o_r _m_u_c_h _l_o_n_g_e_r, _o_t_h_e_r_w_i_s_e_….w_e_l_l_, t_h_e_r_e _a_r_e_ p_l_e_n_t_y_ o_f_ w_o_m_e_n _o_n _t_h_i_s _p_l_a_n_e_t, _I_'m _s_u_r_e _o_n_e_ o_f_ t_h_e_m_ _c_o_u_l_d_ m_a_t_c_h _u_p _w_e_l_l _e_n_o_u_g_h."

Suddenly Mana began to move, stirring awake, causing him to snatch his hand away. Staring up with sleep blurred eyes Mana mumbled "Shu? What are you doing here?"

Shu's eyes began to water, his lower lip trembling, and his hands fidgeting, as he said "Mana? I had a bad dream, can I sleep with you?" Seeing her give a warm, almost motherly, smile she opened the blanket and allowed Shu to fall asleep next to her, hoping his dreams would return to their childish innocence.

* * *

Tokyo, December 24th, 2029 A.D.

Mana tapped her foot as she waited in the church in the Ruppongi district, waiting for Haruka and father to return. She had sent Haruka to find her father, he had probably gotten distracted by something in the lab, or had fallen asleep after an all-nighter. She was desperate to tell him about Shu, she didn't want to tell Haruka because her father was a scientist, and he said he was working on a cure for what happened to mother. If he had it, then he could quickly give it to Shu and stop history from repeating itself.

Hearing the doors creak open, Mana excitedly turned to them, only for her expression to falter after seeing the head of blonde hair signifying it was Triton, not her father coming in. Hearing him cautiously call out "Mana? Are you here?" she breathed a deep sigh and stepped away from the pew she had been sitting on. Walking over she heard his happy cry as his footsteps approached her at the front of the church.

Right before he was about to say something, Mana broke through the silence and said, pointing up at the model of the crucifixion "Do you know the story of how he got there?" Waiting for him to shake his head she continued "Some people didn't like the things he said, so they wanted to hurt him. They managed to convince one of his close friends, a man named Judas, to turn him in. So then they put him up on this cross, as their punishment, but he forgave them, for everything wrong they had ever done. He took all of their hate, their sadness, all the things that made them sad, even though it hurt himself to do it. And because of that, we thank him by giving to our fellow man, to show his sacrifice wasn't in vain." Seeing his wide eyed look at her rather lengthy explanation she finished "Or at least, that's how Haruka explained it."

The two sat in silence once again before Triton broke it by saying "Haruka is weird." At those words the two broke down in unintelligible giggles, their laughter echoing through the empty church. After calming down, Triton decided to say what had been burning in his mind since yesterday. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves he said "Mana, I've been around you and Shu for a while now. And it has been the best time of my life, I've grown to see Shu as a little brother. But for you, I don't feel like you are family, I have these feelings in my chest, and they won't go away. What I'm trying to say Mana, is that….I like you!" As he spoke, both Mana and Triton failed to hear the church doors opening, something they would both come to regret.

Shu walked down the path toward to the church Mana told him to come to, admiring the cherry blossoms that lined the path. As he began to push open the doors , he began to hear snippets of what sounded like Triton talking, wondering what he was doing here when Mana had told him in private. As he opened the doors he heard Triton say "….Mana, is that…I like you!" Hearing him say those words caused Shu to freeze, and a pit to form in his stomach, he had seen enough sappy romance movies with Mana to know that meant she and Triton would be getting married now. While this should have caused him to be happy to know that Triton would soon be a real part of his family, but for some reason he was hoping Mana would say no, that she would stay with him, not leave him like she would if she went with Triton.

However, his hopes were crushed when he heard Mana say, while stuttering and with cheeks the same color as her hair "Triton….this, this is so sudden. But…I do like you too, a lot!" When this reached his ears, Shu felt like his heart was cracked in two, now his sister, HIS Mana was going to leave! She was going to leave and never come back, and it was all Triton's fault! Without realizing it his breath had begun to speed up, the bandage hiding his crystals bursting off as they grew in size and started to spread. Finally unable to keep his pain silent he let out a loud scream, simultaneously creating a shockwave that knocked over the candles lit all over the church.

Alerted by the scream and the pulse of air accompanying it, Mana and Triton turned to see Shu doubled over, clutching his arms, looking the epitome of the word pain. Feeling scared for the young boy Triton immediately called out to him, "Shu! Get over here! Are you alright?" When he didn't respond Triton started to walk towards him, Mana not too far behind. Right as he was about to touch Shu's shoulder, the boy's head shot up and screamed, creating another blast that pushed them back, stoking the fallen candles to the point where they started to spread around.

"Get away from me! Traitor! You took Mana from me! Stay away!" Shu repeated these words to Triton many times, leaving the older boy in shock and unable to respond. When Mana tried to get close and comfort her obviously ailing younger brother he turned his fury to her "You! You were mine! You were my sister! Only mine! But you chose him! Him over me!" As he spoke, he lost what little control over his emotions he had left, the crystal that had up till now stayed hidden underneath his hair now spread out, beginning to cover his face, forming a mask of sorts.

This quick growth startled the two, especially Triton, who was unfamiliar with said rocks and afraid of the effect Shu's part normal, part monster face had on him. Scrambling back until his back his a pew he pointed his hand up at Shu and stuttered out "Mon-mo-monster!"

Feeling the hurt caused by the words thrown by his former friend, Shu reached his hand up to his face, his eyes widening when he realized the rocks on his neck had spread. Suddenly his eyes turned to Mana, searching her own, when he only found fear in her eyes he looked down at his hands, seeing the rocks begin to overtake one of them. Clutching his hands to his head he began to chant "Make it go away. Make it go away. Make it all go away!"

Suddenly, the voice from the other day appeared, its calm tone soothing his weary mind as it said "_Are you sure that is what you wish for young Prince? What about Mana? Is she not the one you want beside you?_" Shu looked up at Mana, the fear still prevalent in her eyes, and he shook his head, curling into the fetal position after he had done so. "_As you wish, my lord." _Suddenly Shu's body was jerked up, like a marionette with an inept puppeteer, staring at the two of them with a too wide grin. The voice that only Shu could hear suddenly found a willing throat and said "_It really is too bad Mana, you could have been Eve and ruled forever with Shu. But you have given it all away to be with that peasant!" _The voice practically spat the word peasant, stretching Shu's arms out the voice finished "_Now then, would you kindly….DIE!"_

Suddenly a concussive wave hit them, much larger than any that had come before, the very foundations of the church groaned before collapsing, Shu's body being thrown away from Mana and Triton. The wave stretched all the way to the outskirts of the district, many were killed by the debris flying around, others suddenly found their bodies crystalized, before shattering and blowing away with the wind, unwittingly spreading the virus to other hosts. After the wave died down, the aftermath left the district in shambles, most buildings were left in ruins, most people were left dead or dying in the street, at least, those who weren't crystalized and spread on the winds of the island nation.

Surveying the destruction was one blonde haired being, one who held the looks of a teen. Stepping off a skyscraper he gently floated down, defying the very laws of nature, stepping onto the rubble of the former Ruppongi district. Walking over to a small body, strewn haphazardly on a couple of rocks, he gently grabbed the body and laid him on his back. Picking his phone out of his pocket he dialed a number from the speed-dial, laying it on his ear he said "Shuichiro? Yes, drop all of your experiments and get me the next flight out of Japan. Where are you? Really? Then meet up with me where we first met, it seems our King has awoken. Where am I headed? To Da'ath HQ, you mean specifically? Well you should have asked then! We are headed to Israel. See you soon Shuichiro!" Closing the phone he looked over his shoulder and said "Looks like things will be quite interesting with you young King….quite interesting indeed."

* * *

Well, that's the start off to this story, I've had this idea stuck in my head for days! So, how will the story change with Shu as patient zero? How will Da'ath and the GHQ act now that they have their chosen one on deck? All these things and more will be revealed as our story progresses! So, if you have any questions, comments, or critiques please place a review so I can see them! This chapter wasn't beta'ed, so any mistakes are all on me, also if anyone would like to beta this story, please tell me!

So, as always, stay classy internet!


	2. Chapter 2: The end of innocence

Author's note: Hello again everyone! First off, I would just like to say I was stunned at the feedback I got, compared to the number of views I have gotten, I was not expecting the amount of reviews I got! So I would like to extend my most heartfelt thanks to all those who have favorited, alerted, and review for this story. Because of the response I got, I decided to push out the next chapter as early as possible. But before that, time for review responses! So, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and any that come after it!

**Ford1114: **I'm glad you enjoyed it so far! I hope you enjoy this one as well!

**GuiltyKingOumaShu: ** I'm glad that you are interested! I hope this next chapter will keep your interest, and I am glad that you agree with me! I decided I would try and help this fandom grow, although I probably won't affect much.

**Obsidianminer67:** I'm glad that you will keep reading! Here is the next chapter, and sorry, no spoilers.

**NoImagination: **I'm glad you find this fic to be interesting, to be honest Guilty Melody is a fic I read soon after I finished watching the show itself. I do plan to keep this going, and the reviews definitely helped! I hope you continue to read the story!

**VexEchoUmbra: **I'm glad it has become a favorite of yours! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And also…please not the puppies! They are so fluffy!

* * *

**Airspace over India, December 25****th**** 2027 AD**

Yu sat calmly in his plush chair, pleased that Shuichiro was able to secure seats in first class, turning his gazed away from the window and the passing landscape to look at said man. Giving the rather irritated looking man an insufferably smug smile he continued to pet the young Adams head, as one would a cat. Raising an eyebrow he asked the seemingly older man "What? Is there something on my face?"

The man gave an irritated grunt as he turned to look out the window as Yu had done moments before, he spoke in a gruff, tired tone and said "That's not it, and you know it. Besides, didn't you say that he chose his sister as his Eve? If that's the case why wasn't she by him when the event happened?"

Yu adopted a pensive look for a moment before saying "That's an excellent question Shuichiro, by all rights this event should have stretched across the globe, yet it only went as far as a simple district. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that something occurred to bring out Adam's power, but broke his connection to Eve. But enough distractions, you had a very odd look on your face Shuichiro, what's the matter? Can you not stand the fact that you will be spending time with the child of your greatest rival, the man you killed in cold blood?" Yu's grin stretched wide across his face, taking on a sinister look as he twisted the knife, enjoying the flash of remorse that Shuichiro showed before schooling his features.

Grabbing a drink from a passing stewardess Yu took a sip before continuing "But don't worry, you won't be around him for too long." At the man's inquisitive look he continued "Soon after Adam wakes up, you will be called back to Japan, you will be a higher up in a multinational group dedicated to governing Japan, and fighting the Apocalypse Virus."

Shuichiro's voice took an inquisitive quality to it as he said "Really? I suppose Da'ath will use its connections to assure I get in, but how will you make sure such a group is coming about?" He was startled when a mobile phone landed in his lap, picking it up and looking at its screen he saw multiple news articles about the explosion from a couple of hours ago. Many thought it was a sign of the end of days, and others said it was a terrorist bombing. As he went down the list however, more and more articles mentioned an influx of patients in hospitals with crystalized portions of their bodies, ranging from portions no larger than a finger nail, to entire arms being encased.

After he looked up Yu explained "It seems after the event, the virus has begun infection of the Japanese nation. Soon the reports that you and Kurosu made will come to light, with the knowledge that their days are numbered the people will panic, the country will collapse, and the United Nations will be forced to intervene. With you being the only living expert on the virus you will be invaluable to them, and if you are not in a position satisfactory for Da'ath's goals, you will receive some…assistance. Meanwhile I shall stay at HQ and train young Adam as well as I can."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Shuichiro quickly shuffled through his bag before taking a folder out and saying "That reminds me, I found this in Kurosu's office." Handing the folder to Yu he continued "It seems Kurosu found a certain sequence in the Apocalypse Virus, one that would seemingly allow the person using said sequence to extract a portion of the Virus, and manifest it outside the host body. However, the notes are incomplete, meaning we will have to find said sequence by ourselves."

Yu hummed in thought before handing the folder back, returning to petting the young boy resting in his lap he said "We have a few connections with a genetics company, we will be able to tighten our hold on them by offering this along with a government contract to research a 'cure' for the virus. But this 'Void Genome' does seem interesting, perhaps we could mass produce it? Create an army in case there is resistance to Adam? Or perhaps give it to a select, devoted, few, a true shadow force. Well, it will be a while before we develop it, as long as we keep it a secret it won't truly matter how we use it. After all," Glancing down at Shu, Yu grinned and lifted the boys sleeve up and said "Every King, needs an ace in the hole." He chuckled at his own words as he stared at the marvel that was the boys fully crystallized arm.

* * *

**Da'ath HQ, Tel Aviv Israel, March 15****th**** 2028**

Yu calmly strode through the halls of the underground bunker, he smirked glad he had chosen to use a simple skyscraper as a cover, most wouldn't suspect men arriving dressed as maintenance workers to be working for the largest secret society man had ever created. He whistled a jaunty tune as he walked through all of the layers of security on the way to his destination, not paying any mind to the nameless guards on the way. In his mind, there was only one irreplaceable member of Da'ath, and that was Adam, everyone else, himself included, could be easily replaced if needed.

Entering the final door, he walked in and adopted a blank look as he gazed around the room. It was a stark white room, with the only thing to break the uniformity of it was the door itself. In the corner there was a desk, with many papers haphazardly strew across it, the chair was currently occupied by a mousy, brown haired woman. In the center of the room however, there laid the purpose of Yu's visit, there was a hospital bed, with many monitors around it, laying motionlessly in the center of the bed, hooked up to the monitors, was Shu Ouma, better known by the members of Da'ath as Adam.

Yu walked over to the bed, the woman glanced up, immediately standing up and following after him. As Yu stood over the young boy he asked "Have there been any changes in his condition? If he stays under much longer, many will lose their belief that he is Adam." Yu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, thinking over the current situation Da'ath had found itself in. Some of the higher ups in the organization had begun to believe that Adam was not the original infected, that it was his sister Eve who was the harbinger of humanities evolution. Many of the lower levels had begun to follow this school of thought, forcing Yu to replace them inside the HQ itself, in case they decided Adam was expendable. The higher ups were a harder problem, he couldn't get rid of them or else he would lose the considerable influence that they held.

Seeing her leader in thought the woman waited for a few moments before saying "Well sir, he is doing much better since yesterday. His REM time is raising considerably, signifying he is dreaming for much longer. If my hypothesis is correct, if his REM goes high enough, he should regain consciousness and then wake from his sleep." Seeing a smirk grow on Yu's face, she decided to venture a question "Sir, if I may. May I ask what the current situation is in Japan? You see, I have family living there, and I understand humanity will soon evolve. But if they are already dead by the time that comes around…I just want to know if they will be safe soon."

Yu's smirk quickly turned to a frown as he gave the woman a disinterested look, before giving a sigh and said "Oh, very well, you have done admirably in the past few months. Well, Japan is still in a state of chaos, despite the formation of the GHQ by the U.N. to maintain order. Although, using notes recovered from Dr. Kurosu Ouma, they are close to developing a vaccine to hold off the development of the Apocalypse Virus. All in all, Japan will soon return to normalcy, however they still have the borders closed off. If Adam wakes up soon, we may be able to relocate your family, Da'ath always rewards its followers." Seeing her perk up at this his smirk returned, allowing the virus to spread would be perfect for Da'ath, giving them more chances to snatch up power in the chaos.

Suddenly he heard a groan, and his eyes snapped to the bed, seeing him tossing and his eyelids scrunching before opening marginally. Grabbing a pitcher of water and pouring a glass, Yu quickly supported the boy as he sat up, giving him the glass to drink out of. Ignoring the protests of the doctor, Yu was pleasantly surprised to discover that the boy was able to drink it successfully without aspirating it, likely the virus kept his muscles in the condition they had been.

As the boy slowly blinked the exhaustion from his eyes, he looked around before asking "Wh-where am I? Where's Mana? And Triton? Wh-who are you?" As he spoke, his tone kept becoming more and more fearful, his eyes widening until they are full and glancing around wildly.

Yu just gave the boy a disarming smile, saying "It's alright, you are safe. Mana and Triton are not here however. It's alright young King, we have ensured your safety after what happened." Seeing the boy wrack his brain for what he was talking about, he was able to gesture for the doctor to leave them. Laying the boy's back onto the wall he pulled up a chair next to the bed, and watch as his face dropped suddenly.

The boy glanced down at his hands and said "That's right, Mana…chose Triton, she chose him over me. He took her away from me, he betrayed me." As he spoke, his voice became more and more malevolent, by the end he had his teeth clenched, his hands in fists in his lap. Feeling something odd with his right hand he lifted it up, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at his now crystal encased arm. Not able to say a word, Shu's breath began to quicken, almost reaching the point of hyperventilation, before Yu grabbed his face and forced him to look away.

"It's alright King, if you let me explain it will all make sense, but you need to stay calm understood?" Yu said in a tranquil voice, his eyes staring directly into the boys, almost as if he was staring through them. After the boys breathing returned to normal, and getting a nod from him, Yu took a deep breath and began to speak. "You are the first infected individual for a disease known as the Apocalypse Virus, as such it has chosen to bring about a forced evolution of all living creatures on this planet. You see, this virus is able to play the very process of evolution like an instrument, however without a conductor, without someone to direct it, it just destroys, playing an insufferable tune. You are the one who will conduct the virus Adam, you will be the Harbinger of the end!" Yu spoke with a visible excitement, at the end he took one of Shu's hands in both of his own.

Seeing the young boys questioning look he just stood up and said "You don't understand, that's alright, you are still a young boy. But don't worry Adam, we will get you tutors, an uneducated King is worse than no King after all. Now, I will go and get you something to eat, I'm sure you must be very hungry after months of being fed through a tube." Chuckling at his own joke he calmly walked out, letting the door close behind him before turning to the guard by the door, he barked at him "Call a meeting of the heads, tell them I will be waiting in the study. And bring Adam some food, he is starving." Without another word he turned and walked away.

The guard at first had a mournful look on his face, being stuck with the mundane task of gathering the various heads of departments of Da'ath, however when he heard his second task, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, being given the honor of personally serving the boy who had become a messiah to the loyalists in Da'ath. Quickly moving to send the message down the chain of command, he practically sprinted in order to meet the boy King as soon as he could.

* * *

Yu lounged in his plush chair, waiting for the heads to arrive. Placing a saucer and a cup of tea on the table in front of him, he began to mentally go over the various positions of the heads. He knew the head of the treasury was firmly in his camp, allowing him to draw funding from the other departments in order to give Adam the attention he needed. The head of research however, was the leader of those who wanted to obtain Mana Ouma and name her as the Harbinger instead of the comatose Shu. The head of their influence was in his camp, however he was starting to be swayed toward the dissenters, but the head of security was where the real problems laid. He had chosen to stay decidedly neutral, not supporting either side, allowing the security forces to be split down the middle without a leader to fall behind. He had already sent away many guards in order to keep the peace in their HQ.

Hearing the door open and the shuffling of many shoes, he put on his insufferable smile and spread his arms wide, "Welcome, my loyal heads! I have very important news so please, take your seats." He said as he waited for them to follow his orders. Seeing the head of research purposefully take a seat on the opposite end of the table made him clench his jaw before relaxing himself.

The head of research, an middle aged man who was quite self-confident and with a smug look to him, as soon as everyone had taken their seats he cut Yu off by saying "Well then, since you have suddenly called us all together I assume you have finally come to your senses and have called us to tell us of your plan to bring in Eve. Isn't that right?" The man had a very self-satisfied look to himself as he awaited for the reply of the leader of Da'ath, a title the man obviously coveted for himself.

Giving the man a too wide smile he simply leaned back in his chair and said in a singsong voice "Well, that would be the case Jean, if not for the fact that Adam has just awoken. He is currently resting in his room, conscious as the day he was born." Enjoying the way that the man's face fell Yu just gave a cruel laugh as he continued "What? Did you honestly think I would give in to your foolish delusions while Adam still drew breath? Now, are you going to submit to the King, or am I going to have to look for a replacement?"

The man merely clicked his teeth together in frustration before looking at his mobile phone, just as quickly the angry expression the man wore had suddenly turned back into his normal smug look as he responded "As long as Adam draws breath huh? Interesting choice of words sir, since right about now the usurper should be drawing his last." The man gave a cruel laugh as Yu's eyes widened at his words, not quite believing what he had heard. Jumping off from where he sat, the blonde haired leader grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and brought him high into the sky, holding him with one hand.

Giving a ferocious growl, Yu practically roared at Jean "What have you done! What do you mean 'his last breaths'? If you do not answer me so help me I will ensure you die a slow painful death, you miserable insect!"

Meanwhile the man in his grasp just continued to laugh, uncaring of the fact his feet no longer touched the ground, instead confidently saying "That's right Yu! Right about now your precious usurper will be having his throat closing up, growing blue in the face, his eyes bugging out as his lungs shriek for oxygen. And there is nothing you can do about it, our precious leader!"

Before Yu could act out his justice, a loud shriek reverberated in the room, causing the still seated heads to cover their ears in pain. Yu's eyes flicked over to where the sound originated from before dashing through the air in that direction. Whenever he was met with a barrier, whether it be a wall or a door, he simply created a rift to clear it, still dragging the manically laughing research head.

Making it to Shu's room, exiting the rift into the room Yu found what had made the young boy scream. On the ground was the guard he had ordered on his way out of said room, he had fallen onto his side, a pool of blood forming around him. On further inspection Yu found that the man was bleeding from a gaping wound in his chest, created by a broken piece of crystal that pierced through the man's armor like it was mere paper, there was a gun lying on the ground by him, obviously his.

Sitting on the bed, Shu looked to be a textbook example of the term shell shocked, his eyes widened to unfathomable proportions, his hands clenched around the other end of the broken crystal shaking like a an leaf in the wind.

Yu calmly approached him, holding his hands out and taking the broken crystal from his hand and saying in a soothing voice "Adam, what happened? Are you hurt?" Shu could only shake his head, his mind still running over the events of the past half hour.

* * *

**Half an hour before**

Shu sat around, waiting for the mysterious blonde man to return with food, food he would very much like to eat mind you. While on the outside he may seem calm, in the confines of his mind he was freaking out, wondering where his captors had taken him, where his father and Haruka were, if they were looking for him, and what these people wanted with him. He was testing how much strength he had in his limbs when he heard a voice say "_Careful, young King, although your muscles are still in working order, they might have a bit of stiffness in them." _As Shu started to rapidly look around, wondering where the voice came from when it continued "_I'm not anywhere you can see, young King. I'm in your head, I'm able to make sure certain actions in your body stay going. I was able to keep your muscles fresh by forcing them to tighten and loosen over and over."_

Shu had a confused expression on his face not quite understanding the words used, but gathering the gist of what was said "Ah, thank you, I think. But who are you? If you're in my head then shouldn't you be me? But I would know if you are me, and I'm too old to have an imaginary friend! Haruka said so." The last part was grumbled as he crossed his arms, quickly uncrossing them as he felt the rocks on his right arm.

He heard the voice give a thoughtful hum before saying "_I suppose in a way, I am you, I grew up with you, while you slept I would sometimes read some books to relieve my boredom. Although I have only been able to do that for the last couple of months. You remember that virus the odd man was telling you about?"_ Receiving a hesitant nod the voice pressed on "_Well, I guess you could think of me as the voice of the virus. If you had been older when you were infected, the most I could do would just be able to give you suggestions. But because you were so young, I've become a part of you. I'll be able to make sure your body runs at top performance."_

Shu simply nodded, trying to process all the information he was just told. Before saying "Hey, if you are a part of me, doesn't that mean you can control my body! That's what you did after Mana betrayed me! That's why I can't remember what happened! Or how I got here!" Glowering a bit at the air he grumbled under his breath.

The voice chuckled, amused at his host's consternation before sobering up and explaining _"No, I have taken a back seat to your consciousness, I cannot take over unless you give me the ability to, like you did that night. If I do try and force your consciousness out, it would put a great amount of mental strain on both of us, something I am not willing to risk. However, you have unintentionally given me control while you have dreamed, which has allowed me to read far more than you have. I suppose you could think of me as something that can give you advice when needed. We can talk more later young King, you seem to have a visitor."_

Shu perked up at that, seeing a man in grey armor walk in, holding a tray what appeared to be chicken and potatoes. When the man noticed Shu was looking at him, he quickly bent at the waist and said "I apologize my King, it took me longer than expected to gather the heads and the nearest cafeteria said they were closed, and then there was a line at the next one and-"

Shu began to wave his hands back and forth quickly, desperate to get the unknown man to stop apologizing so much, saying "It's fine! It's fine! You weren't long at all! I hadn't even noticed the time, please stop!"

The man stood back up and said "Thank you my King, you humble me with your mercy. I can only hope to show the same restraint to others as you have shown me today. Now then, here is your food my King, I hope you enjoy it."

Shu gladly took the tray from the man, not noticing the smirk the man sported for a moment, more focused on getting some much needed food inside of him. As he was about to take a bite however, he heard the voice call out "_Wait! Young King, tell him to take a bite before you do, trust me otherwise this could end badly!_"

Following the voice's advice, despite a furrowed brow as he tried to decipher the voice's intent, he relayed the instructions to the man standing patiently in front of him. The man bit his lip as he glanced to the side before responding "A-are you sure my King? You must be quite hungry, and I don't want to take anything away from you." Despite the truth to his words Shu just kept a stern gaze on the older man, unwilling to relent until his request was fulfilled. The man swallowed hard, but nodded and brought his hand up, reaching for the fork at the edge of the plate. However, before Shu could react, the man had pulled back, his gun suddenly in his other hand pointing at Shu. The much older man sneered at the boy in front of him, before saying in a mocking voice "You could have had a painless death from the poison, but no. You just had to have some common sense didn't you? Normally I don't like to get my hands dirty, but if it's to kill a fake like you, so be it. Goodbye, my King!" The last part was said with as much sarcasm as the man could muster as he steadied his aim and put pressure on the trigger.

It was as if everything slowed down for Shu, the man slowly pressing the trigger, the gun was going to go off! The only thing the wide eyed child could do was raise his hand in a feeble attempt to stop him, the only thing running through his head, despite the voices cries of protest, was one simple phrase. 'I don't want to die. I don't want to die, I don't want to die. I don't want to die, I don't want to die! I can't die!'

With this final thought he felt his right arm become lighter, and instead a comfortable weight settled into his outstretched hand. Suddenly the man dropped the gun, his arm also falling to his side, looking up, Shu was horrified to find blood seeping out of the man's mouth. Wondering the cause Shu's eyes attempted to widen further as he saw the man impaled on a rod of the rock from his arm, with the other end of said rod being held in his hand. As the weight of his deed dawned on him, Shu drew his hand back as he let out a blood curdling scream, not noticing the corpse falling to the floor as the rock broke off.

* * *

**Present**

Shu was still sitting in bed, Yu was at the door, directing his security forces while also ensuring that no one else would get close to Adam. Shu was broken out of his shocked state by the voice saying _"I'm so sorry young King. I should have picked up on that man's behavior earlier. I'm sorry I took control of your body, but it was necessary. I hope you can forgive my actions that you think are your own."_

Shu merely shook his head, muttering in a voice only loud enough for himself to hear "No, you said you can only take control if I let you, and I didn't let you. That means I…I killed him. I killed that man…." With those final words he trailed off, only to look up when he heard footsteps.

Yu was approaching him, a concerned look on his face as he said "Adam, are you alright? I have no idea how someone like him got through our screening. Filthy traitor…" As Yu finished he grumbled to himself, obviously upset that his carelessness had almost resulted in the death of Adam.

However, the word traitor seemed to have hit a cord in Shu, his eyes immediately darkened as he stared intently at Yu, before asking "That man was a traitor? A traitor like Triton?" Yu immediately looked up, internally grinning at an opportunity to bring Adam closer to him.

"That's right Adam, he was a traitor. He had promised to protect you with his life, and never do you any harm. And since he broke that promise it makes him a traitor, in fact he was acting on the orders of another traitor, who is waiting for punishment right outside. Perhaps you would like to show him what traitors deserve?"

Seeing the resolve in the young man's eyes, Yu held a hand out and helped the boy out of bed. Leading him to the hall where the guards immediately bowed at the waist, including the currently seated head of research, who placed his head on the floor in subservience. Speaking in a pleading tone he said "Adam! Oh please forgive me my lord, I had forgotten my place. Please, have mercy, I swear I will never step out of line again, if only you give me another chance!" The man had been pleading with Yu ever since he had seen his plot's failure, knowing the tables had turned had made him change his tune.

Hearing small, light, footsteps coming toward him, Jean looked up in happiness, expecting to be met with the forgiving eyes of a small boy. Instead he was met with the cold, unforgiving eyes of someone he had tried to kill, in Shu's mind he was remembering the last time he had been told he had shown mercy, and what happened afterword. Raising the rock in his hand, it's shape taking one more similar to a blade as he did so, Shu spoke in a steady voice, one devoid of all emotion "My name, is Shu Ouma, you are a traitor. This…is what you deserve."

As he finished those words his arm swung downwards, the only noise in the silent halls being a scream of agony and the sound of something splattering on the walls. The men and women still bent at the waist did not react, although some did give smiles, glad that their King would be taking no prisoners.

* * *

**Tokyo Japan, March 16****th**** 2028 AD**

Haruka Ouma gave a soft sigh as she walked home, Sephirah Genomics setting harsh deadlines as of late, mostly because the vaccine was almost finished. She was dreading heading home, as she had received a message from a friend in the Search and Rescue unit of the Antibodies, about the favor she had asked of him. And what she was told was not good news, but news she must relay to her daughter anyway.

Opening the door she called out "Mana? I'm home!" Hearing her call back from the kitchen, Haruka took off her shoes and walked in, seeing Mana in an apron making fried fish for dinner. Giving her daughter a peck on the top of her head she took a seat before taking a deep breath, saying "Mana, I heard back from my friend in the Antibodies today." Seeing the pinkette perk up at this Haruka glanced away and pressed on, saying "He….he said there have been no reports of anyone matching his description in the survivors. I'm sorry Mana, but that means Shu was likely one of those who got turned to dust by the virus. Otherwise we would have at least found a body."

Mana took a shaky breath before saying "No…no that can't be the only option! Some-someone could have taken him away! And now they are keeping him prisoner, or he has amnesia, or….or…" At this she dropped down to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she tried to keep her breathing in control "He…he just can't be gone. He was so mad at us when he it happened, he can't have….died while he hated us!" Mana finally lost her inner struggle and began to openly sob, still muttering denials about the fate of her little brother.

Haruka walked over and held her surrogate daughter, rocking gently back and forth while she muttered condolences in her ear. After waking up to find Triton gone, and the news that her father had died, the possibility of Shu being alive was her only shred of hope left. With that now gone, it was no wonder that the now eleven year old was finally starting her grieving. Haruka could only hope that wherever Shu was, whether he was somewhere in this world or the next, that he was safe, happy, and making new friends, he had always been good at that.

* * *

Author's note: Well, I really busted this one out, it was written in about two days. Well, nothing new here, so as always review if you have any questions, comments, or criticisms about this chapter.

And as always, stay classy internet.


	3. Chapter 3: Orchestra

Authors note: Hello again everyone! Nothing to really take note of here, except since I am again confined to a class room for a good part of the day expect updates to come slower. I am glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter, I didn't know if I was portraying Yu that well, not much is shown of him so I didn't have a lot to work with. Now then without further ado, let's get the show on the road!

Review responses:

**Ford1114:** Thank you so much for the praise! Like I said I wasn't sure how well I did Yu's character so that really eased my worries.

**VexUmbraEcho:** Here it is, the more you chanted for!

**ObsidianMiner67: **Thank you for the compliment, and sorry if I wasn't very clear last chapter, the dissenters just wanted Mana to be the one who brings about the Apocalypse, Shu is still the one infected and therefore the "chosen one". Since he was so unresponsive for so long some of Da'ath were thinking he couldn't be the one they were looking for. Once again sorry if that was a bit unclear!

**NoImagination:** I'm glad you enjoyed it, with Da'ath supposedly being the oldest society in human history, I couldn't imagine them without an inner power struggle, and of course Yu has always been shown as manipulating things from the background. As for the voice, that will be gone, and very soon too, in all honestly it was a bit of a deus ex machina on my part in order to make the gentile Shu we know give up his basic humanity. Imagine the voice as a sort of imaginary friend for a lonely child, they may need it when they are young, but as they age they rely on it less and eventually let it fade from their psyche. That's right, Mana still has all of her memories, and whatever feelings come with them.

**FlawlessMirage:** I hope it was a good thing that I went beyond your expectations, and here is the next chapter! Also there will be plots…and plots within those plots…and plots within those plots! And…I should stop now…

* * *

**Da'ath HQ, Tel Aviv Israel, September 4 2032**

Yu was pleased.

Anyone who had known the seemingly ageless head of Da'ath knew that while he may have a cheerful façade most of the time, it was rare to see him genuinely happy unless he was with Adam. As the young man was currently on a guarded tour of Paris, seeing if anyone in the city felt like his Eve, that was obviously not the case.

No, what caused Yu to feel this otherwise alien emotion, was the knowledge that Shuichiro was set to arrive soon, the head of the Antibodies being one of the few allowed to leave the land now called "The United Nations Occupied Area of Japan". Yu couldn't wait to torment the seemingly unrepentant man about his actions years ago, perhaps he should make the man explain to Adam who he is to the young orphaned boy? Giving a slight chuckle at such a thought, the blonde haired executive continued his stroll to the entrance of the facility, taking his time as he had given explicit instructions that their guest was not to enter without himself being there. As he did so his mind began to wonder to the reason why the young King was not there in the first place.

After seeing Adam slay that cur, Yu had decided to see if Mana truly had lost the title of Eve, things would have progressed so much quicker if she had not, unfortunately Mana's DNA did not form the Genomic resonance needed when put in contact with Adams. As such, any living woman on the face of the earth could be the new Eve, therefore Adam regularly went on trips to various cities in the healthy world, trying to sense his new partner. So far there had been nothing even close to a reaction from the young King, however Yu was hoping there would be one before they decided to use their last resort. Said resort being Japan, but while it was easy to sneak out before news spread of the explosion, or for Shuichiro as he was head of a governing body, it would be much harder for a simple, to them, boy to secure passage out. If they went back to Japan, they were betting everything they had that Eve was there, not even Yu's warps could get them far enough to return to the mainland.

Yu's thoughts were suddenly broken by an irritated cough, looking up to see Shuichiro giving him a small glare while he stood behind two guards with their rifles crossed in front of him. Giving a condescending laugh as he let a smirk crawl across his face he said with a heavy dose of sarcasm "Why Shuichiro! I was waiting for you in the conference room, but you seem to have decided to mill about in the lobby! The least you could have done was tell me!"

As the older man's lips tightened even further Yu felt his own grin spread farther, before waving off the two guards and turning on his heel back into the facility. Hearing footsteps falling into line behind him he gave a chuckle before walking in silence until they reached the conference room and took their seats. Shuichiro looked at the casually sitting man in front of him before asking "So, what did you bring me half way across the world to talk about? I've sent my reports regularly just as required, and there has been no reason to call me in before."

Yu dramatically placed his hand over his heart while he mimed being faint, before responding "Oh Shuichiro, you wound me! And I thought we were friends…although given your track record with friends I suppose I should be thankful." At the end he looked at the older man through his bangs as he gave a devilish grin. Ignoring the older man's question he instead asked "So, how is the progress going developing the Void Genome? I understand that you have been keeping tabs on it correct?"

Shuichiro looked quite put off at being ignored, however he reigned himself in before answering in a clipped tone "Yes, from what I understand they are still searching for the exact code, the disease seems to be filled with redundant data that it sheds if threatened. It's also why it took so long to develop a vaccine, along with the shortage of supplies that I am sure you had nothing to do with."

Yu just gave a devious grin as he poured himself a cup of water and took a long draw of it. He then leaned forward in his seat, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them before saying "That is acceptable, perhaps the researchers need some more….motivation. But enough on that, how is your _other_ project going Shuichiro?" At his words Shuichiro quickly adopted a confused expression, however Yu saw the flash of fear going across his face and pressed forward before Shuichiro could come up with an excuse. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Shuichiro, did you really think you could take some of the DNA we recovered from Mana without us knowing? I can only assume you are making an artificial Eve with Mana as a base."

Shuichiro could feel the sweat beading down his neck, his mind running through the consequences for what he had been doing. An armed guard could be waiting outside to do God knows what with him, or perhaps Yu would take his punishment personally, or even being brought before Shu who he had heard loathed humanity and specifically those who betrayed him. But his thoughts were brought to a halt with the next words from his unlikely employer "Oh calm down Shuichiro, you're not in trouble, not with me at least." Looking up Shuichiro saw that Yu had regained his usual smirk, one that made it seem as if he were looking down on you no matter how tall you were. Yu leaned back in his chair and explained "Oh, it doesn't matter what you had originally intended for your little puppet, if she can become close enough to becoming Eve because of her DNA then she will meet with Adam. So kind of you to take time out of your own day to try and please our King, of course he might not see it that way, will he?"

Shuichiro saw Yu suddenly pull his phone out, listening to the person on the other end, Yu's expression became more and more irritated as time went on. Finally he canceled the call without warning before turning back and saying "It seems there was a terror attack in Paris, Adam and his retinue will be stuck there for a few days. Looks like you have dodged a bullet there Shuichiro, but rest assured, the longer you wait, the worse his reaction will be."

* * *

**Three hours later**

After the meeting Shuichiro was walking to his quarters, cursing himself for slipping up and not covering his tracks. Now that his 'dirty little secret' was out, his plan would have to drastically change. Originally he was planning on using his clone of Mana Ouma, mixed with Shu's DNA in order to add the virus, and rally the dissidents of Da'ath, making either himself of one of the children he had tested on her Adam. But now his plans had changed, if his genes couldn't continue on as Adam, they would have to go with Eve. All he would have to do is add his genes in place of Shu's, while this certainly wouldn't be ideal Shuichiro had come too far, burned far too many bridges, and climbed far too high in the world to turn back now.

After taking a seat in his temporary quarters and pouring himself a finger of whisky, Shuichiro began to wonder what his life would be like had he denied Da'ath's offer, would he and Kurosu together come up with a cure to save his wife and spare his son this fate? Would he have taken in the orphaned brother and sister, keeping them safe in Japan? Or would Da'ath simply kill them, finding other researchers to fulfil their needs? Slamming his hand down on the table, Shuichiro allowed the slight pain to bring himself back in the here and now. Frowning at his introspection the middle-aged man knew that as of now he had two options available to him, he could either follow blindly after "Adam" like the majority of Da'ath, or he could stage a coup d'état and put whomever he wished in the young man's place.

Smirking as he took a deep draught of his liquor Shuichiro thought out loud to himself "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do both. After all it never hurts to have a backup plane," turning he raised his glass at a unsuspecting portrait on his wall before continuing "Does it…Yu?"

Grinning and chuckling to himself Yu mentally applauded Shuichiro's instinct as he had managed to deduce where his hidden camera was minutes after he entered the room. Yu knew the man was all but admitting his intent to rebel, and were it any other member he would have executed them with no hesitation. But with this man he stayed his hand, the man still had use to Da'ath, and the odds that they would be able to get another as talented as Shuichiro were slim, even slimmer that they would be able to put them as the head to one of the GHQ branches. Besides, it had been awhile since Yu had received a proper challenge in the game of cat and mouse he played, not even the old head of research Jean Befort had been enough to even begin to pique his interest. But Shuichiro had been able to keep a project under his nose even when he knew he wasn't being watched, Yu practically trembled when he thought of what could be done when Shuichiro got serious.

Raising his own glass of water Yu stared at the man's eyes through the monitor, before muttering to himself "Very well then Shuichiro, challenge accepted."

* * *

**Da'ath HQ, Tel Aviv Israel, October 22 2033**

Shu Ouma was bored.

Although he hadn't been referred to by that name in many years, he would likely still react if someone yelled out that name, at least he thought he would. The more time he spent with this so called organization, the more he began to acknowledge the name they called him by, Adam. Shu knew the meaning behind that name, the Christian bible said that Adam and Eve were the creators of a new race, rulers of a new world. From what he had gathered from Yu's rants, he was destined to end all life as the world knew it, to rule over what was left with his chosen. Before Triton and Mana's betrayal, he would have ranted and raved about how he refused such a thing, that he would die before going along with it. But now….he wasn't so sure how he felt about it, thanks to Yu he had seen the failings of man, their willingness to stab one another in the back.

And yet at the same time, the year on Oshima was one of the best he had, the fun before Triton and Mana turned on him, if only he could go back to that time of innocence. So, since Shu had yet to decide which outcome was more advantageous to himself, humanities extinction or its continuation, he decided to take a non-interference policy.

Shu was brought out of his daydreams by a soft voice calling out "Adam? Master Yu has requested your presence my Lord." Cracking an eye open Shu searched through the blur of sleep for the source of the voice. As the world came into focus , he saw a young woman a few years older than himself standing with a clipboard, she was dressed in the regular outfit of Da'ath members with one twist, a purple band on her forearm. After the attempt on his life Yu had all but demanded that he take personal "vassals", members of Da'ath who had no other purpose than to serve him.

The young woman in front of him was one of his newer additions, having been given to him by one of the various local leaders in order to try and join his good books. Her name was Samya, and like most women who visited the young King she was lead to believe she was going to be chosen as Eve. However, unlike the others after he denied her, she had asked to stay near him, he suspected she thought he would eventually change his mind, and was now something more akin to his secretary.

Groaning in discontent as he sat up, Shu rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he nodded his acceptance. Grumbling under his breath at Yu for disturbing his nap, he began to change into some loose fitting workout clothes, talking over his shoulder he asked "I suppose it's time for another practice session isn't it?" For the last year Yu had been trying to get Shu to have actual control over the crystalline form of the virus, with no gains at all.

Glancing over his shoulder at the young woman he barely suppressed a chuckle when he saw color creeping up her cheeks and her eyes averted at his changing in front of her. Stuttering a reply she said "Y-yes my Lord. He said after the failure to find Eve in Vienna yesterday that some progress could hopefully be made in your training. He also wanted me to ask if that…voice….has made a return? He seemed to believe it would be able to help with the training."

Giving an annoyed grunt Shu shook his head, if only the voice was still around, he thought. If it truly was a manifestation of the disease then it would surely know how Shu could control it, unfortunately as Shu's new, less compassionate, psyche took hold, the voice began to fade more and more until it vanished altogether.

Walking into the hallway, giving small, amicable smiles to the various guards he passed, Shu's thoughts turned to the enigmatic leader of Da'ath. Despite his complaints Shu was quite happy with the older man, although it wasn't as though he hadn't had the opportunity to replace him. After Yu had allowed him greater freedom of movement inside the headquarters he had been approached by all sorts of people, all not so subtly hinting that they would be glad to replace their blonde haired leader, if he would only give them his blessing.

He felt no loyalty to the man who brought him here, and he would gladly have someone in his debt in charge of the organization, however the reason he refused them all, and even reported a few to Yu himself, was because of what he saw in their eyes. After his near death experience Shu began to learn more about humans body postures and especially how to see someone's intentions through their eyes. In the traitors eyes Shu could see greed, plain and simple, and also a desire for power, and he knew they would gladly throw him under the bus the second he was a liability. But when Shu looked into Yu's eyes, he saw devotion, not only to himself and the organization, but to the cause of their movement as a whole. After all, it would be much easier to predict a man who would do anything to bring the apocalypse rather than one only seeking to raise his own stature.

Opening the door to the practice room he saw Yu waiting for him with a smirk on his face, his typical lab coat still on and a couple of scientists running around in preparation. After letting the scientists place sensors on his body he looked to Yu for instruction, Yu just turned and began to walk away and said over his shoulder "Just do what comes natural Adam, the power within you is innate, all you need to do is learn how to harness it. Begin when you are ready."

Shu sighed in exasperation and closed his eyes, for a few minutes he tried to call upon the deposits of the apocalypse virus' crystal form on either side of the room. After a bit his mind began to wander, he remembered the day before, his trip through Vienna, all culminating in a visit to the Musikverein and listening to the symphony play. He remembered the music flowing through him, the images of soldiers fighting for their lords, preforming a dance of death and life, the conductors arms moving, guiding the music along its path.

Hearing a gasp Shu's eyes snapped open, seeing the spectacle in front of him caused him to repeat the action. Lined up in front of him in two lines were giant beasts made of the exact same dark blue crystal, in perfect uniformity they held large shields and short swords, some frozen in mid-swing, others appearing to still be charging before they stopped. Taking notice of his arms he saw them hanging in the air, in the same positions as the conductors were in his mind.

Feeling an arm being placed over his shoulders he glanced up and saw Yu standing next to him, a crazed look in his eyes as he grinned down at the King. The man slowly said "Adam, I think it's time we…intensified your training."

* * *

**Ouma Residence, Tokyo Japan November 16 2034**

Mana sighed as she toiled over the work in front of her, text books laid open on the table as she diligently worked on her university assignments. She pressed her forehead against the cool wood of the table to try and abate the headache that was only building as she went on. She cursed her teachers and their senseless need to pile homework on the already overworked students, never mind the fact that it was their first year of the doctorate program, no they just had to make it seem like it was the last year of the grading period.

Deciding to take a break Mana walked into the kitchen and began to fill up a glass of water. As she waited for the glass to fill her thoughts turned back to the past few years, although she knew it was difficult she had decided to go into medical school, specifically one who worked on new diseases. Many thought she was merely following in her father's footsteps, however that was merely part of it, the main reason was so she could prevent others from falling into a similar fate as her brother. Despite reassurances from those who knew the true events of Lost Christmas saying that there was nothing she could have done, she still could not get the last look her brother gave her before that…thing took over. The look of pure fear and betrayal that he had still broke her heart, but not as much as her own eyes reflected in his, eyes that showed her distraught brother fear, fear at what he had become.

She was sure now that whatever took over her brothers body was also the "mother" strain for the Apocalypse virus, but also a parasite in its own right. Obviously taking advantage of her brothers shaken mental state to spread itself as far as it could, and it would spread farther still until it ran out of new hosts and died out. Once she had reached that conclusion she knew that was the GHQ's true purpose, not to attempt and cure the disease, but instead to keep Japan quarantined until all of the inhabitants had died. After all life was gone from the island nation they would keep it lifeless until any surviving trace was gone, and then the vultures would descend on the technologically rich country.

However, Mana had no intention of making it easy for them, she would fight tooth and nail, until she created a cure that would get rid of the disease entirely. Then the GHQ would have no power, and be forced to leave, allowing Mana the chance to find out the truth about her brother. She knew that GHQ knew more than they were letting on, her little brother, the cause of the disease disappears without a trace, her father killed not by the explosion, but a hand gun in his own office. The police wouldn't even reopen the case of the murder of Kurosu Ouma, simply brushing her off anytime she brought up a complaint.

Mana was brought out of her musings by the feeling of something wet flowing over her hand, realizing she had let her cup over flow she frantically shut off the faucet and began to dry off her hand, cursing her inattentiveness. Sitting back down at the table, glaring at her glass as if angry that it didn't tell her it was full, she glanced at her phone and was surprised to see a new message on it. Opening her messages she saw it was from Haruka, she had barely read through the first line before closing it and placing her phone down. She was already used to Haruka being out late at work, although most of the time she would tell Mana earlier so she could pick something up on the way home. Deciding to pick something up from the minimart down the road, Mana pulled a coat over herself and walked out the door.

Locking the door she began to walk down the street, after making sure no one else was on the streets, she began to add a bit of more hop into her step, a bit more flowing to her movements, until she was practically dancing down the street. Catching herself before walking into the light of the minimart she looked around with colored cheeks, making sure no one was watching. However, unseen to the young woman was a young twelve year old spiky haired youth hiding behind a light pole, his mouth parted in amazement as he studiously followed every movement of the young woman. Remembering the bag of groceries in his hand the young man gave one last glance at the minimart before taking off down the road, promising to never forget the graceful movements of that mysterious woman.

* * *

**S.S. Hofuku, Sea of Japan off the coast of Honshu, December 31 2035 **

The small speed boat was currently idling, allowing the current to bring it to shore and avoid detection from GHQ patrols. At the helm of the ship, looking out at the dark waters barely illuminated by the waning moon, was a man seemingly in his early twenties. After spending many years as a child soldier and then a soldier of fortune in Africa, he was finally returning to the country he called home. Although, at first glance many would be suspicious if told this, with his bright blue eyes and long blonde hair the man looked every bit like someone who had never set foot on the former island nation.

However the man could vividly remember his time on the small island of Oshima, with a young boy who he saw as brother, and a young lady he still held feelings for. However, his homecoming would, hopefully, not involve either of them, one due to his own hesitance and the other due to his mysterious absence after Lost Christmas. Instead he would be acting against an evil organization, one that had held him for the first few years of his life, experimenting on him and others against their wills. He had recently gotten information that this organization was using the GHQ as a front for their operations in Japan, if he could remove the GHQ from Japan then he could start to lessen their influence worldwide.

Hearing footsteps coming from behind himself the man turned to see his lone companion coming closer after ensuring their supplies were intact. The man also had long blonde hair, however his eyes were brown rather than blue, and he had glasses the would constantly fall down his nose. This was the only one of his comrades from Africa to join him on his mission, Shibungi, a man who had saved his life countless times, and he hoped to have returned the favor in kind.

"All the pieces are in place. We should make landfall in about an hour, just in time to usher in the New Year." After getting no response from his new leader, Shibungi sighed and took his place next to him and asked "Are you sure you want to go through with this? We could turn around now and no one would be any the wiser, you should have enough saved up from our jobs to live comfortably, at least for a while."

The man silently contemplated his now subordinates words, gazing at the waning moon with something close to a longing expression. Before finally barking out a short laugh and saying "No…we have come too close now, besides I have this odd feeling that something…terrible will happen if we don't at least try."

Shibungi gave a slow shake of his head at his leader once again going with his gut, but accepted it anyway. "Well, I guess that is expected of you huh? By the way, what name will you use while we are here? You've only used a code name thus far."

The man hummed in thought, before replying in a voice that seemed to be distracted by something "You can call me Gai, Gai…Iscariot." Without another word the man returned to his thoughts, completely dead to the world as he reminisced of better times…times when his family was truly whole.

* * *

Authors note: Well here it is! Sorry for taking so long everyone, but when you add classes, a writing contest that could end with me actually being published, and marathoning Future Diary, that, unfortunately, does not leave a lot of time for writing this. But I wanted to give you guys something to have after so long. So, feel free to tell me what you think, I tried to get more perspectives in this one, Mana's was probably the most difficult guess I just can't write a college woman.

So, as always, stay classy internet.


	4. Chapter 4: Al Capo

Hello again everyone, sorry for this coming so late, unfortunately my laptop decided to go out on me, along with most of my story stuff. Fear not though, I am recreating it as best I can. So, I hope you all enjoyed last chapter, and now we will start moving to more plot territory, so without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

Review Responses

**Kyuubi's Death:** Wow, that actually means a lot to me, since I can't reread a story unless there is a couple months for me to forget the important parts. So thanks a lot man/woman, seriously. Anyway glad you like the story so far, here is the next chapter.

**Ford1114: **Yeah, I did take some of the elements of his training from "Guilty Melody", hope the author doesn't mind. Yeah, I plan on Gai being a little different in this story, not just his name.

**NoImagination:** I'm glad you are still enjoying it, glad you liked the Shuichiro and Yu portion, that was the first one I thought up and there were probably around 3-4 different versions of it. If you all would like I could put the alternate versions of some of the scenes as little Omakes. Anyway, glad to see you still reading!

**Td03:** Glad to see another person join the fandom! Even more glad to hear that you enjoyed my works as well. Over the next few chapters we will start to focus more and more on Shu as we get into the events of the show, although that doesn't mean everyone else will be idle. Thanks for the compliment, I figured since Inori could control the virus through her singing, and Mana through her dancing, Shu should have something similar, yet all his own.

**Carottal: **Thank you very much for your compliments! I am glad you enjoyed reading what I have put down so far, and the fact that you enjoy the parts where I wrote about Mana, which I personally thought of as my weakest parts, is very confidence boosting! Now I don't want to spoil anything, but I will try and use as many characters as I can.

**Kingdom Hearts Slayer:** Thank you, I plan on doing so!

**Shuulier:** I guess you will just have to read further to find out!

**Flopsy Rabbit:** Thank you very much!

* * *

**Da'ath HQ, Tel Aviv Israel, July 15, 2039**

Shu mused that he should be celebrating today, after all, it's not every day you turn seventeen. However the mere thought of such a thing left a bitter taste in his mouth, as far as he was concerned he had no family besides the elusive Eve, whose existence even he was beginning to doubt, and no friends to speak of. Oh he could order the members of the organization to throw him a party and shower him with gifts, and they would be more than happy to do so, but it wouldn't feel the same. It wouldn't feel like the birthday's he spent with his family before all of this, his father making time no matter what to visit, Mana's homemade cakes which got better every year, and then eventually Haruka's decorations , and Gai's onetime event of making him breakfast in bed.

Memories of such times almost made him smile before he remembered how insufferably human they also were. How his father seemed to spend as much time away from him as possible as if Shu's very presence hurt him, how Mana would cry whenever she thought he wasn't near once even cursing his very existence for taking her mother away. Haruka overzealously decorating as if she was trying to buy their approval, and Gai spending most of the day talking to Mana and only making polite conversation with the birthday boy.

This might not be the actual events of those days, somewhere deep inside Shu he realized this, however in his current mindset this was the way it appeared to him. So deep had his hatred for humanity run it began to bleed into his memories, only further rationalizing the hatred. If you asked Shu what his main problems with the Human race were, you would need to pull up a chair and perhaps a snack for the lecture you had cosigned yourself for. To surmise, he would point out man's obsession for war, seemingly finding any excuse possible despite claiming to love peace. He would call man out on his hypocrisy, their wanting to help the unfortunate yet only make cursory efforts.

Where we find Shu now is making his way back from the training room, sweet falling from his brow as he greedily drank from a water bottle. Yu was not kidding all those years ago, ever since he discovered his true potential he spent five hours every other day in that room, testing his limits and then pushing said limits. It seemed that his most basic ability was to shape the crystals into any humanoid shape he chose, though the western knight seemed to be the easiest, and give them a set of preset movements. The only drawback was that the entities themselves had no intelligence to speak of, they performed the movements in the order they were given and then stopped, thus Yu had him try and anticipate what an opponent would do and give the entities correct actions. As it was now Shu much preferred to act like a puppeteer, staying out of sight and giving his soldiers, Knights as Yu called them, orders in real time.

As he was about to enter his room he heard hurried footsteps approaching, realizing the only reason anyone would be in this section of the building would be for him, Shu turned and stared at the person coming closer. When the soldier got close he dropped to his knee in subservience, keeping his head bowed he said "My Lord, Master Yu has requested your presence in the meeting room as soon as you are dressed. He says this concerns the search for the Lady Eve."

Giving an unseen nod he dismissed the man and entered his room, deciding that Yu would simply become like an impatient child if he waited too long Shu began to change into his more formal clothes, realizing that if it concerned Eve Yu would probably call the other heads. As he took off his shirt his eyes were drawn to his right arm, where it had once been completely eclipsed by the crystal, forcing him to wear long sleeves and gloves when searching for Eve, it now looked no different than a regular humans. Shortly after fully realizing his powers he found he was able to control his bodily crystals even better, while he wasn't able to completely remove it, he was able to move the crystals to his wrist, where they hung like a bracelet on his slim frame.

As he was about to step out he glanced at his frame in the mirror, admiring the craftsmanship on his clothes. He wore simple black dress pants which comfortably hugged his hips, above that was a fancier purple button up shirt, and on his back, against his wishes, was a red cape that partially covered his arms, and the symbol on the center of it was a double helix. When he asked Yu why this particular symbol was chosen he simply responded that DNA was what fueled the change of evolution, similar to Shu himself.

Deciding to end his self-admiration he set off down the hallway, no longer even noticing the various soldiers, scientists, and assorted others that bowed as he passed, simply viewing them as corrupted humans despite their devotion to him. As he entered the meeting room he saw that he was correct in assuming the heads would be here. As he stepped toward his seat his eyes ran over each head, starting with the Head of the Treasury. The man had a kind and friendly face, looking to be more of a jolly grandparent than the one of the highest ranking members of an ancient secret society, he had been very kind to the young King, despite the latter's standoffishness . Shu gave a small nod as he passed, getting a large smile and a "Good day, my Lord." from the man.

The next head he passed was the Head of Influence, who might as well have been the exact opposite, apparently having been the brother to the old head of research, he had been hoping for Shu to show mercy to the deranged man. After hearing about Shu's callous execution he began to do all he could, short of actual treason, to cause Shu misery. Whether it be 'forgetting' to book a hotel on a few of Shu's outings, or buying a ticket for the wrong plane. This man might as well have been the epitome of all he hated about humanity, holding a petty grudge for no reason than his so called 'honor'. As Shu passed the man just gave a quiet "My Lord." before turning away.

The final head he passed was the Head of Security, a large brutish man who Shu had never been able to get a good read on. The man had barely said a full sentence to Shu, merely saying when they first met that he expected his King to be someone "A little less scrawny." Other than that the two never interacted at all, he got a simple bowed head from the man as he walked past.

Sitting at the head of the table, though quickly vacating his seat when Shu approached, was Shu's mentor, his guide, and ever since he became what he is now, the closest thing he had to a father. Yu looked almost exactly the same as he had when he had first greeted the young King as he awoke from his coma, making Shu internally wonder how the surely older man was able to do such a thing. As Shu took the seat offered to him and Yu took his position at the Kings shoulder, all eyes turned to the enigmatic blonde wondering what the purpose of the meeting was.

Sensing it was time to begin Yu took a deep breath and began speaking in the slightly condescending tone he used with those under him "Now, I am sure you are all curious as to why I have called you here. The reason behind this being, we are running out of time to find Eve."

At these words the heads looked off put and at the same time curious, before the Head of the Treasury speaking up, saying "But Master Yu, I had thought that as long as Lord Adam kept breathing we had all the time in the world to find Lady Eve. And as the Lazarus project is nearing completion we need never fear losing Lord Adam, or am I mistaken?" Although the older man kept a respectful tone as he spoke, there was an undercurrent of mistrust, of his belief that Yu had kept vital information from the various heads.

Frowning slightly Yu responded, quite bitingly, "No, you are correct. However despite the best efforts of our forces to ensure otherwise, it seems the humans are close to creating a true cure for the Apocalypse virus. If the virus is eradicated and the population made immune to it, then Adam will be unable to perform his purpose in life."

At this the Heads seemed to explode in anger, even the head of influence became enraged that anyone would dare try and stop their organizations noble work, fueling the engine of change that mankind needed to prevent stagnation. Finally the Head of Security spoke up, his deep, monotone voice containing the slightest tint of anger as he inquired "Who seems to be heading the progress on the cure?"

Yu seemed to hesitate before answering, as it was well known that the security department had been asked to make more troublesome and obstructive people "disappear" when ordered to, and the death of an important scientist working to the cure of the most hated virus since Smallpox would surely be looked into. Deciding the man would find out on his own anyway Yu slowly replied "The researcher who seems to be making the most head way is…one Mana Ouma, daughter to the scientist who discovered the virus Kurosu Ouma."

After hearing who was undoing the work set up for himself, Shu felt himself stiffen in shock before slowly relaxing in his chair, lowering his head to allow his hair to cover his eyes. He shouldn't be surprised to find out his estranged sister was the one at the forefront against him, even if she didn't know it, she likely felt responsible for the outbreak of the virus, a part of him railed that she should feel that way-that she deserved it , and was now attempting to redeem herself. From beneath the shadows on his face a maniacal grin spread, his thoughts gleefully saying, practically cheering, 'Well my _dear_ sister, you may try and stop progress, but I assure you, you won't get far. After all…the charge for going against the King is treason, isn't it?'

Shu was broken from his almost trance like state by Yu, after apparently calming the Heads down, saying "Now, as our time runs short, we must begin to look for Eve in the one area we have so far avoided. Therefore, I have gotten Adam a ticket on a cargo plane headed for Japan, it is set to leave tonight. Adam, you will be staying with Shuichiro Keido, posing as his adoptive amnesiac son. Which leads me to our next point, Shuichiro will be taking the empty position of Head of Research, though he will be operating in Japan he will still join our conferences through phone calls, and constant reports."

The Head of Influence seemed to be uncomfortable with this fact, obviously still grieving his treasonous brother, but kept his mouth shut out of fear of Yu's retaliation. As no more points of contention were brought up, the meeting was adjourned and Shu returned to his room. Laying down on his bed he allowed his body to rest while his brain went wild with the possibilities of his homecoming, would Mana recognize him? Was she still with Triton? And finally, how would his Japanese hold up after years of not using it? Sure he still studied it but he was very rusty, more accustomed to speaking English, Hebrew, and Arabic, which were needed for his current residence. Deciding he would deal with this problem as it showed itself, Shu decided to get some sleep in now, in order to lessen the effects of the jetlag he was sure he would soon be feeling.

* * *

**Ruppongi District, Minato Tokyo Japan, July 15**

Gai sighed as he stared at the plans laid out on the table in front of him, going over any last minute corrections he thought might be necessary. He had to make sure everything was perfect, he had been building his forces and now with the new intel he had gained he was forced to reveal his hand. He had about one hundred to one hundred and fifty ground troops ready and trained, he had even been able to get a Jumeau Endlave from a black market dealer. While not as advanced as the Gautier that the GHQ had access to, it would be enough to help with the initial punch through, and then hold off any reinforcements that came. 'Besides,' he mused as he gathered his material and began to walk to the meeting room, 'The pilot we've been training seems to be a natural, hopefully she can keep the GHQ off our backs while we take the objective.'

As Gai entered the room, he was greeted by the sight of fourteen people eagerly waiting for their leader, these were the twelve he had chosen to lead the various squads for this mission, as well as the Endlave pilot Ayase Shinomina, and the technical adept of their group Tsugumi. Standing at the desk in the front of the group Gai took no time and began detailing the mission, "Alright, now then you all know what we are doing, so I'll skip the pleasantries. We are going to be attacking one of the GHQ's subsidiary bases, they have reportedly been doing human experimentation and we plan to stop them."

He paused when a young man with black hair on his sides and blonde hair on the top raised his hand, after Gai nodded to him the young man said "So, what's our objective for this mission, I don't imagine reckless destruction is going to win us any points with the public."

Gai nodded and said "That's right, while we will try and free as many of the people being experimented on, our primary objective is a pod at the center , supposedly it is part of a plan GHQ has in store. No matter what it is, we cannot allow them to keep it, the more their plans are pushed back, the more time we have to expel them from our nation." Gesturing to the papers on the desk Gai began to explain "First, We will have Squads Five through Ten move in on the right side of the building, drawing as many of the GHQ soldiers as they can before retreating into the sewers to make their escape. While they escape, Squads Eleven, Twelve, and One through four along with Ayase controlling the Endlave will attack the opposite side, after Ayase opens a hole into the building she and Squads Eleven and Twelve will hold off any reinforcements from the outside. Meanwhile each of the remaining Squads will go to their respective sectors and free as many patients as they can, with Squad One following me to the primary objective."

Taking a pause and pointing at another GHQ station he continued "We will have to act quickly though, if the main forces from this station manage to make their way to the sub base, we won't be able to break through the encirclement they put up, we will have Tsugumi disrupting their communications as much as we can, but we will have to act as if they start to reinforce immediately. Everyone understand?"

Getting nods and mutters of confirmation from the various leaders Gai cast a sympathetic look at them before saying in a soft voice "I understand that you are nervous about going through with this, if our overall goal of freeing Japan isn't completed we will be counted as terrorists by the entire world. Few, if any, of you have combat experience, and I won't lie to you, even in my best predictions we lose around thirty percent of everyone we bring. I want you all to listen to my words, and pass them on to those under you, if you are not ready for this, ready to give your lives, then back out now."

Ignoring the shocked looks on his audiences faces he continued "If you have not made your peace, and cannot face death with a smile on your face then you will only endanger others if you go with us. I won't look at you any differently if you decide to stay, that is your choice and I will respect it. The reason I ask you to be ready, is that we represent progress, and progress has a toll, and that toll is death. Death of the innocent, death of the ready, and death of the unknowing. I will not ask you to give your lives without reason however, but if you wish to go along with this, then I ask you this…"

Here he gained a hardened conviction in his eyes, each member of his audience felt captivated by this as he finished "Give me your lives, I cannot promise that I will be able to return them, but know that I will cherish them and see to it that if they are given up, that it is in order to return our country to its rightful owners, the people, not these tyrants." Giving each person in the room a nod personally, Gai said as he walked out of the room "I want to have a list of all squad members that do not wish to participate in my room by Eighteen hundred hours, I will put them as assistants in the med bays."

Later, as Gai himself was preparing for the upcoming battle, the lists were turned into him and what he saw made him smile with pride, and at the same time hope that what he was doing was the right thing, that he didn't involve these people solely for his own personal vendetta.

On each of the lists was a blank piece of paper.

* * *

**GHQ Setagaya Subsidiary Base, Setagaya Tokyo Japan, Two A.M. July 16**

Shu gratefully took a sip of the hot tea placed in front of him, savoring the warmth and the caffeine as it flowed down his throat. Immediately after getting off the plan Shu was told he would not be allowed to go straight to Shuichiro's home and get some much needed rest, instead he would be meeting the man himself despite the ungodly hour. Heaving a tired sigh he rested his cheek on his right hand, idly musing if he could get some rest before his new guardian would arrive.

However before he could even attempt such a thing he heard the door open and turned his attention to the man walking inside. He was on the taller side, easily dwarfing Shu himself, his light brown hair was beginning to grey, as shown by the streak of it at the top of his head. Other than the bushy moustache on his face there was nothing particularly extraordinary about the man, he was dressed similarly to many of the scientists at this base. Shu's inspection of the man was ended by Shuichiro sitting at his desk and saying "I apologize for the delay Adam, it seems some of the locals have taken to trying and oust us with force. Rest assured, they are being taken care of as we speak."

Deciding to have some fun with this human, Shu drew an innocent look on his face and had a large smile as he replied "Oh it's quite alright, unforeseen circumstances are impossible to prevent. Is that not correct, Father?"

Shu was internally cackling as the uncomfortable look passed over the older man's face, although he was curious why he also had a pained look on his face at the same time. Shuichiro adjusted his collar and said "Well, un, that is right. And may I ask why you are so formal when speaking Adam? I was under the impression that you grew up here in Japan, I would have thought you would speak more casually in your native tongue."

Shu merely kept his smile and said "While that is true, it has been many years since I have spoken my native language. As such I am a bit rusty, I believe I will become more casual the longer I speak, which if we find Eve quickly I will not have to do."

As Shuichiro was about to respond the building was rocked by a far off action, causing both of the rooms occupants to almost fall out of their chairs. As soon as the rocking was calmed down Shuichiro grabbed a walkie-talkie and began to bark questions on the situation, the only response that was given by a guard with a shaky voice broke the silence in the room. "Sir, I'm sorry, it looks like when the reserves went to go chase the terrorists from before, another group hit the left side of the building. It looks like they made a hole to get in and the-"

The man's voice suddenly cut out with the bark of gunfire, a strangled scream being the last sound in the room, echoing in its occupants minds. As Shuichiro was about to instruct the King to go and get to safety, he noticed with surprise that Adam's seat was empty, and the door which was previously closed was now wide open. Cursing his inattentiveness Shuichiro scrambled for the door, hoping to find the King before he got into too much trouble.

* * *

**GHQ Setagaya Subsidiary Base, Setagaya Tokyo Japan, Simultaneously**

Gai gave a grimace of self-loathing as he shot the unsuspecting guard, knowing the man was simply doing his job, before repressing such feelings and deciding to deal with them later. Giving the all clear signal, he joined with Squad One as they methodically moved through the halls of the building, callously and mercilessly taking care of any guards that were unfortunate enough to amble into their path.

The group only slowed down when they reached a large vault like door, Gai put one finger to his ear and spoke "Tsugumi, we need this door open, ASAP. How are the other squads doing?"

Tsugumi, sitting safe in the mobile base along with Ayase's body, said "I'll see what I can do Gai, but it might take a bit. Squad two says that they are about thirty percent done with their mission, apparently there weren't too many guards on their end. Squad three is still cleaning up their section, sounds like the guards were waiting for them, and squad Four is going to help out squad three, turns out there weren't very many to save on their end."

Gai gave a nod of understanding at the last comment, muttering curses at the scientists who allowed this to happen without saying a word. He was pulled out of his cursing by the large doors creaking open, signaling everyone to get into position he pulled out his own gun and aimed at the slowly widening gap in the door.

As the door completely opened Gai was dumbstruck to find that the room was completely empty of people, pondering if they had all abandoned the room when they heard about an attack, or if the group responsible for this area wasn't here to begin with. Throwing such superfluous thoughts from his mind, Gai told the Squad to take defensive positions around the room, while he personally approached the cylindrical pod in the center of the room. Once he was close enough he was able to see the pods contents, it seemed to be filled with a silvery liquid, and in the center was a sight that caused him to rear back in shock.

Floating in the liquid with an oxygen mask over her mouth, was a young woman only a couple years his junior, she seemed to have pink hair that lightened to pure white at her roots. Keeping his eyes above her neck out of decency, Gai could only wonder how this woman looked like a younger version of his one-time companion Mana Ouma. Throwing such thoughts from his mind he began to search the console next to the pod for a release, after eventually finding it Gai was able to release the young woman, throw his coat over her, and hand her to one of his, female, subordinates.

With the objective in hand his squad began to make their way back to the entrance, when Tsugumi's panic filled voice blared in his ears "Gai! Finally, there must be a jammer or something in their, I've been trying to contact you for the last ten minutes! There's some kind of monster at Squad Threes objective, last I heard he was slaughtering them like cattle. Listen to this!"

Later, Gai would count what he heard on a level close to what he experienced as a child soldier in Africa. It was the panic filled voice of the leader of Squad Three, a middle aged man who joined after learning of his wife's death at the hands of GHQ soldiers. He said "If anyone can hear me, please send help now! This kid, if he even is human is tearing us apart, watch out for the soldiers, they are the real threat, it's like he's orchestrating the-"

The man's voice was cut off along with the sound of a blade entering flesh and shattering bone as it moved as an unstoppable force. Suddenly Gai heard a young voice saying, although muffled by the distance he was from the receiver, "Tch, typical human, try and save your skin by hiding amongst the corpses of the fallen, disgusting. Come along you fools, there's bound to be more trash guarding the entrance they made." The sound of footsteps faded until there was no sound other than silence and the recording ended.

Gai grit his teeth in anger as he went over the mysterious man's words, calling his comrades such insults, his blood was practically boiling. Seeing the squad he was with having either the same expression or one of horror only propelled him further, they were now practically sprinting through the corridor. As they reached their newly added entrance they saw a scene that could have been straight from a war.

Gai's soldiers, or those who remained, were in a close knit semicircle, with their backside being protected by the Endlave they had brought with them for the mission, now seemingly destroyed with a piece of debris stuck in its lower back. They were furiously fending off their hellish attackers with whatever arms they had left, some still depressing their triggers despite having run out of ammo.

Their attackers seemed to truly be otherworldly, instead of flesh or armor they seemed to be completely covered in crystals, even the weapons they wielded were made of the same substance. There were only three of them but that seemed to be more than enough, the one in the front seemed to wield a short sword and a European medieval shield. The next one was much larger than the other two, standing a good head taller and appearing to be much more bulky, in its hands it held a large war hammer, a large spike protruding from the opposite end, this being seemed to keep to the left of the first one, waiting for its chance. The final one was similarly built to the first, yet carried a large two handed sword that it would use to cow any who seemed like they would try and run.

Standing far off and to the side of this carnage was what appeared to be a young man wearing a cloak with the hood covering his face. He was moving his arms in intricate and precise motions, and the beasts seemed to be responding to his movements. Deciding to try and cut off the head, Gai brought up his rifle and began to fire at the young man, but was surprised when the shield touting beast dived and took the shots for the young man, who took this opportunity to run into the GHQ building.

Without the young man to control them, the beasts simply shattered into multiple pieces, allowing Gai and his men to escape before the reinforcements arrived, but not before creating the legend of "Death's Maestro". As he ran, Gai began to wonder what he would do with the young lady they had saved, and only one person came to mind who would know.

* * *

**Authors note**: First off, how is everyone doing? Good I hope. Secondly… I AM SO SORRY! I honestly did not mean for there to be such a large period before I got this chapter out. However I had a performance to do, then I got caught up in Tokyo Ghoul, and am now starting two, possibly three, more stories lead to this chapter coming out much later than I wanted. Well, that's all I have for now.

As always, stay classy internet.


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